The Georgia-Russia cyberwar

Posted at 10:31 AM on August 11, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: War

Bombs are dropping in Tblisi, in what we used to call Soviet Georgia. While everyone was focused on the Beijing Olympics, the Russians and Georgians (correction) have started a war.

This is an ongoing thread with some of the highlights:

It's not all bombs. It's also a battle on the Internet. The Russians have reportedly launched a massive cyberwar, hijacking the routing of communications and attacking government Web sites.

Russia -- or more specifically, Russia Today -- is using YouTube to get its message out. And it's one of peace, the latest video insists:

There is some information getting out from Georgia. The Georgia Ministry of Foreign Affairs set up a blog on Google's blogspot service. The images are quite disturbing. There's also a minute-by-minute account of the war being posted.

A similar blog -- Russia and George At War -- exists here, although its pedigree is unclear. Another blog -- The State Minister for Reintegration -- also has images and information from a Georgia perspective.

But back to the Russians. Siberian Light, which bills itself as "The Russia Blog," isn't carrying a word about the hostilities. Its top story is the Russian space shuttle floating toward a museum in Germany.

I've sent an e-mail to the writer to ask why he's not covering the war. I'll let you know what I hear back.

Update: The response is:

Yes. I'm on holiday in an isolated Cretan village with only expensive mobile phone Internet access. I'm watching events as closely as I can, but won't be able to blog again for at least two weeks.

Russia blog, on the other hand, is tackling the story head-on, and clearly writing to an American audience:

What would have United States done if a bordering country (let's say Mexico) slaughtered 1,400 U.S. citizens and 10 U.S. soldiers overnight, leaving U.S. citizens by the tens of thousands without food and water?

If you are following other blogs, feel free to post their links below.
However, if you don't know html, just send the URL it to me, please.

Update: Here's a really good list.

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Comments (3)

Just a quick correction to the first paragraph: most news reports have stated that Georgian troops and South Ossetian paramilitary forces commenced combat in South Ossetia on August 1. As these combat operations were the first of the many that followed among Georgians, South Ossetian separatists, and then Russians and potentially Abkhazians, it seems incorrect to state that Russia commenced this war.

Posted by Brian Davis | August 11, 2008 11:28 AM

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Thank you for the links, Bob.

Posted by Heather | August 11, 2008 4:30 PM

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Instead of spending the government’s money to war, why not make it more useful to the people. War could destroy a lot of properties and lives too. And can cause trauma mostly to the refugees. For those not familiar with Serenbe, Georgia (not the one in Atlanta) but the country near Russia. The Georgian village of Serenbe is a unique place, as it is amongst the first eco-focused communities. The village has extensive recycling facilities. They operate farms and a water recycling and processing center on the outskirts of town, so virtually everything they need is available close by, avoiding waste or byproducts. Less waste means lower costs, which means they don't worry so much about cash advance loans. It sounds like Serenbe is quite the place to live.

Posted by Bradley I. | March 26, 2009 12:30 AM

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